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I am so not mentally prepared for this.
I tap on the image attached.
BOOM!
There goes my heart.
Sixty
WHATCHA TALKIN’ ABOUT,WILLISALICE?
Ophelia
Angus places me on my feet, loosening the blindfold. “Surprise,” he whispers before slipping the material away.
Oh wow! I am standing on a pink carpet that is about twenty feet long. Angus has brought me through the gate that joins the MacDougall property and mine.
We stand in a neatly mowed area with hundreds of rows of vines as the backdrop. All the animals are watching nearby behind their fence.
Paisley, Teagan, and Alice are waving at me from where they are seated on white cushioned, high-back chairs at a long wooden table with Gwen at the head, reclining back against a pillow with her foot elevated on a generous two-seater sofa. I wave back, but then I notice the beautiful older lady with wavy dark hair and a warm smile standing beside the ladies. I have seen her before, in a photo. “Isabella,” I say softly and smile at her. Santiago’s wife is even more stunning in real life.
I look around and find Shamus and Wiley, each holding one of my cute little dogs, standing by a makeshift outdoor bar and kitchen area dressed in suits and crisp shirts. Standing behind the bar is—“Santiago,” I call out, delighted to see him and give him a wave. He grins and nods, holding up a cocktail.
Then I notice the man we are all curious about, Matthew. He is about Alice’s height with dark hair and glasses, looking smart in a suit, standing near Santiago. I wiggle my fingers at him before cupping my hands around my mouth and calling out, “Matthew… so glad you could join us.”
His face lights up. “Thank you. I like Alice.”
Alice rests her head against Teagan’s shoulder and giggles. “I like Matty too.”
Somebody, please mop me up before I become a puddle on the ground. I can already tell Tucker is going to love Matth—Matty.I can’t think about Alice moving back to Redondo Beach away from her new beau. They are already too cute.
Coco and Oscar race over to me, wagging their tails enthusiastically. They have a big fake flower tied to the back of their heads. Coco’s is pink, and Oscar’s is white.
I am having trouble taking in all the scenery before me. I feel like I have stepped into the secret garden of a billionaire’s home.
Various flowering plants in whites and pinks are in large, heavy pots. There’s a white picket fence on three sides with the pink carpet leading over to the ladies’ seats. Light bulbs on thick wires crisscross above the table like a tent of lights joining black poles hammered into the ground. I see rose-pink and gold and Tiffany blue-ish table settings in shabby-chic. The whole area’s styled like an Oprah celebrity garden party.
I turn to Angus, who is filming my response. “Thank you, Tucker. It’s incredible.”
Angus stops recording and offers me his elbow. “Shall we walk the pink carpet?”
“Just one second.” I turn to the animals. Pearl is watching me with her pretty, long lashes from over the fence. Bobby and Banjo are excited to see me, making noises while Bill and Ben are running back and forth along the fence line, and the Mini-Ms are peeping between the wood panels, making bleating noises. “Hey, guys. I’ll come over and see you all in a moment. I have to go say hello to everyone first, and as long as you promise not to eat the garden party, you can mingle for a little while.” My voice seems to soothe them all, and they settle down. They know I will let them come over to play for a while. Pearl will just sit on the ground, and the goats will cozy up or climb her. The donkeys and alpacas will need their leashes.
“Angus, now your suit makes sense. It looks like you guys are staying for lunch.”
“I got a last-minute invite.”
“I guess there’s only one thing to do. Let’s garden party.”
Nearly three hours later, I lean back into my chair and pat my stomach. I have eaten the most delicious food and drunk two margaritas. I can’t have any more alcohol. I am on call for the new guests arriving.
“Thank you, Santiago and Isabella, for this wonderful lunch. I speak for everyone at the table. We have had the best time.” I raise my glass of sparkling water in a toast. The rest of the table makes some noise in agreement, raising their glasses.
“You are most welcome,” Isabella says, resting her hand over her husband’s. They finally sat down after serving us food and drinks.
Today was initially an all-ladies affair, but it changed everything when sweet Matty arrived. Isabella had more chairs in the truck, and extra table settings got added to the table before I came because Matty couldn’t possibly be the only male at the table. The Mighty MacDougall trio discussed it and stepped in to balance out the gender scales, suiting up and treating him like they had known him for years.
Shamus made it his business to sit on the sofa with Gwen so she could use his legs to elevate her ankle, and he didn’t leave her side, making sure she had everything at her fingertips.
